Lullaby For The Fallen
by HealingPasts
Summary: BloodLust, a murderer who has a hidden secret buried in the long forgotten shadows, knows who her next target is. Team Chaotix are called to solve the murders and a life is at stake. Can these detectives solve the murders before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Lullaby for the Fallen**

Hiya guys, Healing here with another story. Just a quick disclaimer: I don't own anything Sega related, but I do own my OC, and my friend loaned me her insane OC for this as well. One more thing... READ AND REVIEW PEOPLE!! I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET!! ... erm... to the story!

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**Chapter One**

In the darkness, anyone could see the white mist that seemed to appear out of nowhere; it appeared almost as fast as light can appear in a darkened room. The wet ground was covered by the mist and the leaves of a nearby tree was being caressed by the gentle wind. Who knew that a night like this would be so peaceful? Definately not Team Chaotix.

In the small rental building, Vector was reclining in his black chair, his feet propped onto the desk in front of him. He had his headphones on and was listening to his mp3 player loudly. Espio was sitting in the corner of the living room, his eyes closed and his mind elsewhere. A small buzzing noise could be heard by Espio and he knew that Charmy was just flying around out of boredom.

"Espio! I'm bored!" yelled Charmy in his small voice. For a 6 year old, Charmy was definately one of the most annoying people Espio had ever met in his life. But he just sighed, coming back into the real world and seeing Charmy right in front of him.

"I realize that."

"Can we do something fun?"

"Ask Vector."

Charmy frowned for a moment before flying full speed toward Vector, realizing he wasn't going to stop in time, the small bee collided into the alligator's face.

"WHA!"

"Vector can we do something fun?!"

Vector turned off his mp3 player and he looked at Charmy, "say that again?"

"Can we do something fun?! I'm bored!!"

Vector frowned as he questioned, "like?"

"Go somewhere! Maybe a restaurant, or maybe an arcade! Please Vector!" begged Charmy as though not going anywhere would destroy him. Vector sighed and looked at Espio.

"Do we even have money to go somewhere?"

Espio stood up and he walked over to a small safe. He entered the code in and counted how much money they had. Espio sweatdropped.

"I'm guessing we didn't get any bills this month?"

Charmy and Vector froze, looking at each other as though saying they did but they lost the total amount they owed. The purple chameleon sighed, "figures."

"We're sorry! We were playing catch and this and that happened."

Espio rubbed his temples as he replied, "that's fine. We've got a few jobs to do anyways so we might actually be able to pay it off this month."

"Are you sure? Last month we owed at least 600 rings!"

"Then this month we'll owe... crap."

"Crap?" asked Charmy and he started laughing.

Espio frowned, "why is that we always owe so much?"

The hyper bee stopped laughing and whistled as Vector shrugged. Espio raised an eyebrow at Charmy's reaction to the question.

"Charm-"

"How many rings do we have?" he questioned before Espio could confront him.

"About 350 rings."

Vector got out of his chair and walked over and recounted; sure enough, Espio was right. Vector sighed.

"How many jobs do we have tomorrow?"

"At least 3."

"How much are we getting paid?" questioned Charmy. It was times like this that Vector and Espio both wished that the bee would shut up.

"100," replied Vector.

"Then we'll go out tonight, to anywhere, and we'll worry about the rent later!"

Espio looked at Vector who had a grin; he wanted to get out of the house too, Espio could tell. The chameleon sighed, giving in.

"Fine. But when we get the bill that says how we owe more than before, don't come complaining to me."

Charmy cheered loudly as he buzzed around. Vector was obviously getting annoyed by the buzzing and he said, "Charmy! We're going to a restaurant so behave!"

"Okay!" shouted Charmy as he stopped flying around the whole building and stopped next to Espio.

Espio kept 200 rings out and put the rest back; who knew what Vector or Charmy would want? After a few arguements, the trio then came up to the conclusion of which restaurant they should go to. The Moonlight Cafe.

* * *

The trio soon got to where they wanted to go; the small cafe wasn't the greatest cafe in the world, but then again, neither were the others. This cafe made up for it's slow service with the entertainment of singers, and instrument players. Groups of teenagers would go up on the stage and perform, and depending on the number of standing ovations and how loud the applause was, they'd determine if they'd ever make it to the life of a rockstar; unfortuantely, not many did ever make it that far.

A racoon dressed in black dress pants, a white long sleeved shirt accompanied by a black vest over it, and a small white ribbon in her hair appeared. She held three menus and she said in a shy voice, "hello, welcome to the Moonlight Cafe. I assume you're wanting a table for three?"

"Yes please," replied Espio.

The racoon nodded as she led the trio to a table that was in the middle of the room. Once they were in their seats, she gave them their menus. She rubbed the back of her neck and she said, "please be patient and we'll be right with you to take your orders." She then darted away, a blush on her face.

Espio and Vector shrugged and that's when they finally noticed that a small group of teens were playing a song. Charmy was instantly hypnotized, and the duo were relieved to see that. The last thing they needed was a sugar high bee who was already naturally hyper and who was at a restaurant.

A few minutes passed and the teens ended their song. The applause was almost as loud as Vector's mp3 player during a thunderstorm, and that was loud! Charmy clapped and so did Vector. Espio smirked at the teens and realized that they were all looking at a small group of girls; obviously trying to impress them. The racoon from before appeared at their table, clapping.

She looked at the trio and she grinned, "sorry about the delay, are you all ready to order?"

The trio nodded and gave her their orders. She nodded and she grinned, "coming right up. Please enjoy the entertainment!" she then darted off.

"Huh, that was oddly fast."

"New worker?" suggested Vector. Charmy shrugged as he was hypnotized into the next small group of teens. This went on for a long while until the racoon made it back to their table in record time with everything.

"Lets see here..." the racoon muttered as she placed the plates of food in front of them and the glasses in front of them. "Did I get that right?"

"Yea! Great job! Better than usual!"

"Charmy, hush."

"I'm just saying! Usually this place is slower than anywhere else!"

The racoon laughed quietly at that and she replied, "yes. I'm new here so I try to be quick. I'm Taylor."

"Nice to meetcha!"

Taylor smiled at the trio and she then face palmed herself, "oh yea! The other tables! I'm sorry but I will be back to check up on you in a moment!" she then darted toward a few tables. Charmy and Vector smiled at the kindness of the racoon and Espio began eating.

The music ended and a wolf with a devious grin walked on the stage.

"Are you all having a great time?"

There were cheers that said yes, some said maybe, but there were no cheers that said otherwise. The wolf grinned even wider, if possible at that reply.

"Good! Now we'll do our usual challenge seeker. Not only will this person sing, he or she will have to play an instrument as well."

A spotlight appeared on the stage and started moving toward the Chaotix table and Espio prayed to anyone that it didn't land on them. Luckily it abruptedly moved to the left, and soon fell on someone in the corner.

"Come on up lucky lady!"

The girl's light blue eyes were calm as she stood up. Espio then noticed that she was strange, even for an anthro. She was a pale gold cat with ungodly light blue eyes. She wore a pair of light blue denim jeans, a light blue wrap shirt, white gloves, and in her hair she wore a light blue- green ribbon. Strapped to her back was a lavender guitar.

"Don't be shy now, come on up!"

The girl nodded as she walked up to the stage calmly, but even though her eyes didn't show it, Charmy could tell she was extremely nervous. When she made it on the stage she looked at the announcer.

The announcer made a motion for her to say something before she began. She looked at the audience and she slowly smiled.

"Um... I-I'm not sure what to say, except that wow. I got picked. Hehe... I probably sound a little strange. But, you're all in for a special treat. I promise you'll love it!"

As soon as she was done saying that, she swiftly moved the guitar so it was still strapped to her, and it was in front of her. She took out a pink pick and she closed her eyes and the notes began to fill the air.

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Hiya guys! Okay, there was chapter one. Sorry if it seems out of place but that's when your reviews are much appreciated. Please read and review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The notes sounded calm and instantly everyone was hypnotized by her soft guitar. The cat's eyes looked at everyone for a moment before she closed her eyes and started to sing.

_**"I took a walk around the world to ease my trouble mind,**_

_**I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time,**_

_**I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon...**_

_**I fear there's nothing I can do... Yeah."**_

The cat kept playing and her voice seemed to echo through the small cafe just as easily as a scream in a very small cavern. All the people that sang before had their mouths gapped open and their eyes were wide. Espio and Vector smirked at them before they realized that their mouths were open just like their's were a few seconds ago.

_**"I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon,**_

_**After all I knew it had to be something to do with you...**_

_**I really don't mind what happens now or then,**_

_**As long as you'll be my friend at the end!**_

_**If I go crazy then will you still call me superman,**_

_**If I'm alive and well will you be there a-holding my hand,**_

_**I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might... Kryptonite!"**_

Everyone was still in a trance by the girl's chime like voice; she took a gaze and saw everyone staring at her, her face turned pink before she continued.

_**"You called me strong, you called me weak but still your secrets I will keep,**_

_**You took granted all the times I never let you down...**_

_**You stumbled in and bumped your head if not for me then you'd be dead,**_

_**I picked you up, put you back on solid ground! **_

_**If I go crazy then will you still call me superman,**_

_**If I'm alive and well will you be there a-holding my hand,**_

_**I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might... Kryptonite!"**_

Even though the song wasn't over yet, everyone was cheering already. Then the light guitar soon sounded stronger as she started doing a guitar solo. She spun around and soon her strong guitar faded back to the light notes and she took a breath in as she sang:

_**"If I go crazy then will you still call me superman...**_

_**If I'm alive and well, will you be there a-holding my hand,**_

_**I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might, Kryptonite.**_

_**YEAH!!"**_

The girl's voice got louder and everyone cheered louder.

_**"If I go crazy then will you still call me superman,**_

_**If I'm alive and well, will you be there a-holding my hand,**_

_**I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might! Kryptonite!! YEAH!!"**_

She then finished off by playing a few cords and a few single notes that left everyone standing and everyone cheering. Even Charmy, and Espio were standing, cheering. Vector stood up suddenly and their order of food flew to the ground as Vector cheered. They stopped applauding and noticed this and the duo glared at the alligator who just simple chuckled nervously. He was going to pay dearly for that.

The girl moved her guitar so it was now against her back. She looked at the standing ovation and a very noticable blush came over her face. Her light blue eyes locked on Team Chaotix as she said into the microphone, "thank you for listening."

She then jumped off the stage and walked over to where the trio were. She then picked up the plates which miraculously didn't shatter. She put the plates on the table and she took a few napkins and started cleaning it up. Taylor swiftly rushed in with a mop and a bucket of soapy water.

"Here dear, let me take care of that!"

"A-are you sure?"

"I'm as sure as I'll ever be miss."

The girl nodded as she stood up and noticed that the trio were staring at her.

"Um... I-I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You have no reason to be sorry," replied Espio calmly. Charmy nodded as he flew over to her.

"What's your name? I'm Charmy and that's Espio and Vector! We're Team Chaotix!"

Vector looked at Charmy who wore a grin. The girl smiled and giggled. Her ungodly blue eyes looked at Charmy and she replied, "my name is Aurora. It's nice meeting you all."

"You were great up there!" said Charmy happily.

Aurora smiled, "thank you for those kind words, but I was just singing."

"If that was just singing then you're a natural."

Aurora's face turned pink as she held out her hand to the three of them.

"Um... thanks. Not many people flood me with compliments."

The trio shook her hand and she pulled up a chair and sat down with the trio. They all began talking about interests, which oddly enough she enjoyed doing things from listening to music, to playing games, to meditating; this obviously was surprising to Team Chaotix because they laughed out of shock. An hour passed and Aurora stood up.

"Once again, it was nice meeting you. And thank you for coming by."

"Anytime."

Aurora smiled at them and she turned to leave when suddenly something whipped past her face, grazing her cheek. Her eyes were wide as Team Chaotix jumped to their feet. Vector lifted Aurora and she gave a surprised yelp, Espio dashed toward the exit and Charmy quickly followed behind them.

The sound of a gun firing made Charmy fly past Vector and right beside Espio who had kicked down the door and they all escaped into the mist that covered the streets. The figure smirked as she backed into the shadows of the small cafe and vanished without a trace.

* * *

Team Chaotix kicked their front door open, ran inside, and slammed the door shut and locked all the windows and doors. Once that was taken care of Espio and Charmy sat down and sighed with relief.

"That was a close one boss!"

"Agreed," muttered Espio.

"Um... can you put me down please?"

Vector gently put Aurora down on the couch and sat down beside Espio.

"What the heck was that anyways?"

Vector shrugged, still tired by running for almost a mile. Charmy then remembered that the bullet almost hit Aurora, "are you okay? Did you get hit?"

She felt her face and flinched, "it's just a scratch nothing too bad."

Charmy sighed.

"Do you know who that was?" asked Espio. Aurora shook her head and frowned.

"I have no idea. the person didn't seem familiar."

For a long moment they all sat in silence until Espio then questioned, "where do you live?"

The girl frowned and her light blue eyes looked at the ground, "... I... I don't have a home."

"You're an orphan?"

"Charmy!"

"I'm just asking!"

Aurora nodded, "I... guess in a way you can call me that."

"You probably should stay here tonight then."

Her eyes looked at Espio and she looked shocked. Espio smiled, "no need to look so shocked."

"You'd really let me stay here?"

"Of course!" replied Team Chaotix all at once. Aurora jumped off the couch that was opposite of the one the Chaotix members were sitting on and she hugged each.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cheered hyperly.

The trio laughed warm heartedly and Espio said, "follow me, I'll show you where you'll sleep."

The pale gold cat followed Espio up the stairs. The chameleon opened the door and revealed a spotless room; there was a hammock on one side of the wall, a clean dark blue rug in the middle of the room, and a few pictures. Aurora walked inside and she grinned, "thanks!"

"No problem. Besides, you'd be better off in my room than in Vector's... if you went in his room you might not see the light of day again."

She giggled at that and Espio sighed.

Aurora yawned and she then realized how tired she was. Espio smirked, "I'll leave you alone so you can sleep."

"Thanks again Espio..."

"Anytime. Now get some rest and we'll wake you up for breakfast."

The girl smiled with care as she walked over to the hammock and climbed into it. She curled up into a ball and she said, "night Espio!"

"Good night."

He turned off the light and closed the door quietly. Espio then realized when he got down the stairs that Vector and Charmy made a hasty retreat to their rooms after he left. Figures. The purple chameleon walked over to the couch, laid down on it and stared at the ceiling.

_"Who was that person we saw? Why'd it attack us? What is this going to lead to?"_ was what ran through Espio's head as he felt his eyes droop. He yawned silently and soon sleep washed over him and he entered his dream land.

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Hiya guys! Here's Chapter Two! Oh yea! Disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sega nor do I own the song! I do however own Aurora and my best friend's insane character. And no, my best friend doesn't have an account on here.

Please Read and Review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The dark sky seemed to almost vanish under the light of the rising sun; calm, and kind, the light intruded into the Chaotix building and lit up the living room. Espio was still on the couch, fast asleep. The other members were sleeping as well, but in their own beds and light was blocked out of their room with the use of curtains.

Besides the loud snores that came from Vectors room, a small tapping noise could be heard coming down the stairs; Aurora was trying her best to stay as quiet as she could, knowing that anyone who was woken up at 6:30 in the morning was bound to be in a bad mood.

Once Aurora was down the last step, she smiled, seeing that it was brighter than it was upstairs, and glad that Espio was still sleeping. Her blue eyes looked around and after spending a few minutes looking around she found the kitchen.

"Hm... they should have something to eat. Sure it might be a little early but they still need to have breakfast," muttered the cat as she looked through the pantry and refrigerator. She was shocked to see how low the food supplies were! There was barely anything in the refrigerator, save for a few cans of soda, tomatoes, a carton of milk, and some celery; at least it was better than the pantry which had started to collect dust and only had a few packages of ramen noodles and three different types of cereal.

Aurora's eyes were wide as she whispered, "how the heck do they survive?" She frowned and she sighed. "I suppose I'll still have to fix them up something. Even if it's not much. At least I know what I'm going to do today."

* * *

8: 30 am; that's what the clock on Charmy's nightstand read as the small bee yawned widely and sat up in his bed. He rubbed his eyes and something seemed strange. He looked at his window and realized the curtains had been pulled back, letting the sunlight get inside his room. His honey colored eyes were wide as he flew out of his room.

"VECTOR!!" he shouted out of shock as he flew into the alligator's room. Charmy froze by the horrific sight in front of him. Four words echoed in the 6 year old's mind.

_"Vector's... room... is clean?!"_

It was true. Just like Charmy's curtains, Vector's was pulled back to let in some sunlight, the windows were spotless, and there actually was a floor under all the crap that Vector kept. As Charmy took in this sight, Espio darted up the stairs and barged into the room.

"What's going on?! I heard a... scream... is this Vector's room?"

Charmy nodded, speechless. Vector mumbled as he turned in his bed; Espio and Charmy stayed in front of the doorway.

"Espio... pinch me! I'm dreaming!"

The purple chameleon did and Charmy yelped.

"That hurt!"

"You wanted me to do that," replied Espio as Vector yawned widely and sat up. "Morning Vector."

The alligator looked at the duo who were smiling. He scratched his head for a second and then he asked, "okay, what did you guys do?"

"We didn't do anything but see a horrific sight."

"The pantry's empty?!"

Espio and Charmy didn't even want to see _that _sight, and to avoid any discussion on that they shook their head.

"Nope."

"Then... why are you two smiling?"

Espio motioned around the room; Vector looked around and his jaw dropped open. He jumped from his bed and questioned, "who cleaned my room?!"

The trio looked at each other then they shouted, "Aurora!"

The Chaotix team darted toward Espio's room and saw that the room also had been cleaned, even if there wasn't anything to be cleaned at all. They then walked down the stairs and that's when they heard giggles coming from the kitchen. They walked in and were even more shocked to see their boxes of cereal out, three bowls and spoons out, and Aurora giggling.

"Uhm..."

"H-hi! Morning!"

The trio just blinked in shock. Aurora stopped giggling and she walked over to them and pushed them to their seats and motioned for them to take a seat. When they did, she went to the refrigerator and took out the carton of milk and put it in front of them.

"Wow..."

"Thanks!" cheered Charmy as he was the first one to take the milk and pour it over his cereal; honey nut cheerios.

A few minutes later, the Chaotix members finished their breakfast and just stared at Aurora as she took the bowls over to the sink and started washing them.

"Hey Aurora! Thanks!"

The pale gold cat turned off the water and looked at them with a smile, "anytime."

"Were you the one that cleaned all of our rooms?"

She nodded.

"Wow... you'd have to be a brave soul to be able to make it out of Vector's room alive."

"Shut it Charmy!" shouted Vector as Charmy laughed. Espio smirked, he had to admit, she was pretty quiet at doing all of this if Espio didn't wake up to it.

"Well if you were up since 6: 30 in the morning, you'd want to do something too."

Espio looked at Aurora, "were you really up since that early?"

She nodded and explained, "I know that people that get up early are usually in a bad mood so I stayed quiet and did a few things. Cleaned, found out a few things."

"Like?"

Aurora looked at the clock and smiled, "you've got to get to your first job at 9. Your second job starts at 2 in the afternoon and then you've got your last job which will go on until 7 at night."

They jumped from their seats and they shouted, "WHAT?!"

"Yea. If I were you guys I'd hurry."

Vector and Charmy were out the door before Aurora finished her sentence. Espio nodded, "okay. Thank you."

"Anytime. I'm not even done here yet. I'll be around, probably buying more food and so on."

"You might want money for that."

Aurora sweatdropped, "I... forgot about that. Don't worry though, I've got an idea!"

Espio raised an eyebrow and Aurora grinned, "trust me on this. Just don't do anything okay?"

The purple chameleon shrugged and replied, "whatever you say," before he quickly darted out of the front door and left the cat by herself.

She then took out a very long list of supplies that Team Chaotix needed, and other things she needed to do. She looked at the safe in the corner of the living room. She walked over to it and shook her head, "I won't need the combo yet. Not until I've helped a little."

She made sure her guitar was strapped to her back and fixed her fur so she didn't look as bad as she thought she did. Aurora looked at her things to do and she swiftly made her way out of the small rental building; a smile was written on her face as she walked toward a small studio.

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Hiya guys! Sorry if that's a fast chapter, I just had to get the idea out and that was the only way I could think of. Anyways, that's chapter three please read and review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The day went by slowly as Team Chaotix were doing outdoor work; everything from mowing the lawn to helping install a new window. Charmy was cleaning the newly installed window from the outside, Espio was on the wall, making sure the other newly installed window was in tightly and had no chance what so ever to fall out spontaniously, and Vector was mowing the lawn. It was already 4 in the afternoon and luckily this was their last job of the day.

Espio had kept the amount of money they had earned in a small bag as he climbed down from the wall.

"How does this look Espio?" asked Charmy as he showed the chameleon the shinny window. Espio nodded.

"Looks good."

The bee smiled brightly and kept cleaning it. Espio walked toward Vector who had yawned and stopped mowing.

"So... how's it going?"

"Tiring," replied Vector.

"Ah..."

Charmy figured it was time for a quick break and he flew down over to the duo, "what do you think of that Aurora girl?"

"Interesting."

Vector looked at Espio and asked, "that's all? Interesting?"

"Think about it. No one gets up earlier than Charmy so it's kind of shocking to hear that someone did and didn't look tired at all. Not only that but she knew what we were doing today."

"What surprised me was that she actually cleaned Vector's room! I didn't even know his room had a floor to it!"

Vector looked at Charmy and muttered, "shut up! Besides, I just want to know where she put everything."

The bee shrugged, "the closet? Under your bed? Somewhere where no one would ever find it?"

Espio sighed and stretched for a moment.

"Interesting isn't even a word for her!"

"More like amazing!"

"... Maybe so... what do you guys think she does?"

The duo looked at the chameleon and shrugged, "sing?"

"If she was a singer, she probably would've lost her voice by now," remarked Espio quietly. Charmy buzzed around Vector's head until they heard a shout.

"GET BACK TO WORK!! I'M NOT PAYING YOU TO STAND AROUND ALL DAY!!"

The trio instantly ran back to where they were before and went back to work. Espio frowned as he inspected all the windows, _"something's definately strange about Aurora... Maybe we should look into her past, or get someone to tell us about her. Nah, now I'm being paranoid about her," _thought Espio as he smirked.

* * *

Aurora held numerous bags that were filled with everything from food, to drinks, to anything else the trio might've needed like bandages, antibiotic spray, etc. She soon made it to the rental building and she somehow managed to get the door open after a lot of tries of getting the door opened with her hands full. Once inside, she put the bags down in the living room and she sighed.

"Hectic day," she said tiredly as she dug through the bags and took out all the refrigerated items out and swiftly ran over to the refrigerator. About a few minutes later, she realized that everything she bought wasn't going to fit. She frowned and put the rest of the items in the freezer; sure it probably wasn't a good place, but at least it was better than letting the food spoil.

Before she got to the items that were going into the pantry, the phone rang. Aurora walked toward Vector's desk in the living room and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"..."

Aurora frowned as she repeated, "hello?"

There was still no answer as she said, "erm... bye," and hung the phone. She had no idea why, but she felt like something bad was going to happen... no way. She had no right to think that something bad would happen. Aurora walked back over to the bags of pantry food and after spending almost 30 minutes, she had finally put everything away.

The bags she stored away under the couch just in case the Chaotix would need to use them. Aurora then laid down on the couch and sighed happily.

"Finally, some me time before they come back."

Her tail flickered and her ears twitched; something rarely happens. She sat up and sighed, "what now?"

The phone rang once again, making Aurora jump out of surprise. She walked over to it and she answered it, "hello?"

"Hiya! Who's this?"

"Um... Aurora the cat. Who's calling?"

"Taylor the Racoon, I was the waitress from the Moonlight Cafe yesterday and I called to see if Team Chaotix would be kind enough to take a job."

"What's the job?" she questioned almost as though she'd been instructed to do this.

There was a pause and Taylor replied, "the shooting at the cafe. I want to know who's responsible for it and I was too scared to call on the cops."

Aurora was surprised; 'too scared to call on the cops'? What was that suppose to mean? Why was that?

"How come?"

"Erm... boyfriend problems. Thinks I'm too paranoid and so on."

The cat remarked, "OOOH! So you called to see if Team Chaotix would do it instead?"

"That's right! Are they around?"

The cat frowned, "I'm afraid not. They left to do a few other jobs, I'm just here because I decided I'd help around."

"That's awfully nice of ya. Want me to come around and lend a hand?"

"Do you want to?"

"Of course I do!" exclaimed Taylor before she added, "besides, it's not like I'm on my shift at the moment. I don't have to work until 9 at night."

Aurora smiled, having another girl at the place may make things seem a little less boring and she could really use the company for the next 2 and a half hours.

"Okay, just stop on by and I'll fix you up something nice to eat."

"You don't have to. I just ate."

"Either way, I'll see you soon?"

"You can expect me over in about 30 minutes," replied Taylor as she hung up the phone. Aurora hung her phone up as well and she walked over to the couch. She sat down, no longer feeling like resting. She felt hyper suddenly, but it wasn't a good type of hyperness. It was the type you got when you get scared. No, it wasn't hyperness... it was adreniline.

Before she could question why she felt so pumped, she heard a knock on the door. Aurora blinked, thinking she imagined it. A few seconds later, another knock was heard. She frowned as she walked over to the door, "hold on! I'm coming!" she called.

She gripped the door knob and she froze. Something didn't seem right to her, but she let the feeling pass or at least fade to the back of her mind as she opened the door. Aurora frowned, there was no one there. After closing the door she then heard the phone ring. She was definately losing patience with whoever was calling; maybe it was Taylor saying she was going to be late, or perhaps it was Team Chaotix wondering if she was there.

Aurora answered it, "hello?"

"..."

"Hello? Who's this?!"

"... I see you..."

Her light blue eyes widened as she looked around her; there definately was no one around her.

"T-this isn't funny you know."

"Hehe, to you it's not. For me it is."

"S-stop calling here."

"How come? Your nervousness is much better than your performance was yesterday," remarked the voice in an intimidating voice.

Aurora looked around herself again, no one but her and the shadows. She then questioned, "what am I doing right now?"

"..."

Suddenly the line went dead. Aurora put the phone back on the receiver and she whispered to herself, "no one's here... no one's here..."

"If only that was true," she heard a voice whisper. She yelped as she darted for the front door but when she turned the knob, she found out it was locked. Aurora then darted toward the windows and sure enough they were all locked. "Hehe... no where to go little girl, no where to run now... you're trapped now and that's just how I like my victims."

She felt an adreniline rush enter her as she tried the door again, "LET ME OUT!" she yelled.

"That's right. Scream. Scream like you've never screamed before. Who knows, you might just lose your voice."

Aurora shrieked as she kept trying to open the door. A few minutes later, her voice had turned into a hoarse whisper. The voice was right. She then felt a hand grip her shoulder and throw her back into the living room. She landed in the middle of the room and her eyes widened when she saw a hooded figure, shadows that concealed this person's face, and dark blood red eyes that held pure horrid intent in them.

But that's not what scared Aurora the most... it was the fact that there was not only a gun in this person's hand, but a blade as well. The figure's calm laugh seemed to send a shiver down her back. She felt herself try to scream for help once again, and fail miserably when the figure quietly said, "what you're doing now is fearing me."

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Hiya again guys. This definately was one of the hardest chapters for me to focus on, mainly because it's almost 3 in the morning, and because I had no inspration for this chapter until my friend came over. Yea I know, scary thought. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. Oh yea, almost forgot the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Sega related, I do however own Aurora and my friend's insane character.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Very loud shrieks were heard throughout the small rental building along with gunshots. That was the first few things Taylor heard as she approached the building almost an hour later. She was late; there was no denying that, but she got scared when she heard the gunshots. The raccoon tried to open the door but found it locked, "HEY!!" she shouted, hoping to get someone's attention.

"TAYLOR!! GET AWAY!!"

Taylor's ears twitched as she looked up and saw Aurora's light blue eyes, wide with fear and the way her voice sounded, she could instantly tell that the cat had been screaming for a long time.

"What's going on?!"

"GET OUT OF HERE!! NOW!! GET HELP!! DO ANYTHING BUT COME IN!! EEP!!" Aurora screamed as she ducked and the window shattered, the pieces fell to the sidewalk and Taylor instantly got the message as she darted away from the building, taking her cell phone out and trying out a lot of numbers.

* * *

Team Chaotix were on their way back to their home, and they were glad when they counted the rings they had earned. 300 rings; okay sure it wasn't a lot but at least it was better than nothing. They stopped when they heard someone on their cell phone screaming and crying hysterically. Espio motioned for Charmy and Vector to stop and they did. Their eyes widened when they heard the raccoon screaming about a small rental building, and gunshots.

"PLEASE!! SHE'S IN DANGER!! D-A-N-G-E-R!! SOMEONE WAS SHOOTING AT HER!!... I'm being paranoid?! LOOK AT THE PERSON WHO WON'T EVEN DO HIS JOB!! SHE'S GOING TO DIE IF YOU DON'T HELP!" Taylor screamed into the phone as the tears fell onto the sidewalk like waterfalls. There was a long pause before she whimpered, "I don't care... just help her out please!" Another long pause before she threw the cell phone in the trash and she sat down on the curb crying into her hands.

Vector frowned as he walked over, "excuse me miss."

Taylor looked at the trio and she frowned. She said nothing and her white opal eyes fell to the ground.

"What exactly were you saying about someone shooting someone?"

Taylor whimpered out, "she was getting hurt... she was being shot at... she told me to run and do something but then I call my boyfriend who's job it is to save lives and he won't even do it!! For all I know she could be in worse danger because she warned me!!"

Charmy flew over to Taylor and hugged her.

"Don't cry miss. Where was this happening? Maybe there's still time."

Taylor took a deep breath and said, "a small apartment building... um... Team Chaotix's building."

"WHAT?!" the trio shouted as they said, "we're very very sorry but we need to get there!"

Taylor stood up, "I'm coming too!"

After a few quick arguements about bringing Taylor along, they finally accepted her and they all darted toward the building swiftly. When they got in front of the building... there was nothing but dead silence.

"Aurora!" shouted Charmy as he tried to open the door. It was still locked. "Vector! Espio! I can't open the door!"

Espio tried it as well, no luck.

Vector then stated, "stand behind me."

Espio dragged Taylor behind the alligator and Charmy instantly knew the drill and flew behind Vector. Vector let out a yell as he punched down the door.

"Holy... crap," muttered Taylor as she saw Vector's desk turned on it's side, the chairs and couches flipped on their side as well, everything scattered all over the floor. The raccoon was about to go in but Vector stopped her.

"Stay out here... just in case."

"Just in case what?"

No one said anything but Taylor seemed to get the message as she walked over to a nearby street lamp and leaned against it. Team Chaotix then silently made their way into the building. Charmy buzzed around Vector's head nervously and he dodged the swats that Vector dealt out.

"Okay, any ideas?"

"I'll look upstairs, you two look down here. If you see anything don't hesitate to scream," replied Espio. The duo frowned, about to protest until Espio then added, "we need to hurry!"

Charmy flew toward the kitchen, Vector ran toward the living room, and Espio darted up the stairs, skipping almost every other step.

If the living room being a mess shocked Taylor, then the raccoon would've been even more shocked by the condition of the upstair rooms. Espio peeked inside Vector's room and saw that there were a few bullet holes in the wall and glass on the floor, along with a few drops of red liquid... blood. The chameleon didn't bother analyzing Charmy's room; the only thing that seemed strange was the window was broken and glass was on the floor.

"Hehehe," a small laugh came from Espio's room. He turned invisible and looked inside his room; it was hard to miss his room. The door had been knocked down and that's when Espio nearly lost his invisibility.

The window had been shot at, the floor was a complete mess with blood, and shards of his mirror. But what scared him the most was over the unconscious, bloody Aurora was a hooded figure.

"What a shame, what a shame. The little girl lost the game. Too bad you don't remember me at all, because I was your major downfall."

Espio acted quickly, taking out his shirikens and he flung them toward the figure. Two out of the five stars hit the figure and a scream of agony was heard.

"AH!" the blood red eyes looked toward the doorway but when the figure saw nothing a snarl was heard. A few more screams were heard as the figure ripped the stars out of her shoulders and tossed them toward Espio. The stars hit the wall, almost hitting him but thankfully it missed him by a few inches. "I believe you had just earned yourself a break. Consider yourself lucky, because next time you're not going to make it out alive."

Shadows seemed to linger over the figure like a forgotten fog and as the shadows cleared out, the person was no longer there. Espio ran over to Aurora and turned visible lightly shaking her.

"Aurora? Aurora?"

The pale gold cat looked like a complete mess. Blood covered her hands and her feet, she looked like she'd been beaten up for a long time and Espio could see a few bullet wounds in her arm. But sure enough Aurora's once closed eyes opened but they were dull.

"E... Esp..."

"Don't try to talk," he said quickly before he shouted, "VECTOR!! CHARMY!! GET THE MEDICAL SUPPLIES!!"

Vector and Charmy came up quickly with the newly bought medical supplies at hand.

"When did you two go shopping?"

"We didn't. We just saw this stuff in the medical cabinet and we brought it up when we heard-"

"Never mind! Just help me out here!" exclaimed Espio. Vector took out bandages, gauze, tweezers, and the antibiotic spray. Aurora felt tweezers enter one of her bullet wounds and everything went black. She had passed out.

* * *

After a little while of waiting outside, Taylor started to cry again out of nervousness. The raccoon walked in and said, "hello? Anyone?"

She heard a small buzzing noise and before she could dodge, Charmy flew into her face. She yelled out of fear that it was the person that had been responsible for the shooting. Charmy yelled as well.

"Why are we screaming?!"

Taylor stopped screaming when she heard it was Charmy, "um..." her face turned pink out of embarrassment. "I thought you were the shooter."

"No, I'm Charmy, part of Team Chaotix!"

"Wait... the chameleon, the alligator and you are Team Chaotix?"

"Of course we are," replied Charmy hyperly. Taylor couldn't help but smile at Charmy. He must've been brave if he can still hold a good attitude when their home had been threatened with a gun. "Just wanted to let you know that we're all upstairs."

"What about Aurora?"

"She should be fine, or at least that's what we're all hoping. She got shot 4 times, and half of her wounds aren't even from being shot!"

Taylor's eyes were wide and her eyes started watering. Charmy realized that and hugged Taylor again, "please don't cry! She's going to be okay!"

"Sorry..."

"It's okay!"

Taylor then asked, "so if she got shot, then there's probably no chance of her being awake right?"

Charmy frowned and nodded. The raccoon sighed, "is it alright if I stay here?"

"Um... I'll have to ask Vector about that."

"CHARMY!!"

"YEAH!?"

"CAN YOU BRING UP A FEW SODAS!!" called Vector. Charmy sweatdropped and so did Taylor.

"I'm guessing that's Vector?"

"You guessed right."

"Why isn't he coming down to get the soda himself?" questioned Taylor as she followed the bee to the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator and paused to look past all the food stuffed in there and grabbed three cans of soda.

Charmy shrugged and replied, "maybe he's lazy?"

Taylor followed Charmy up the stairs and soon they walked into Espio's room. The room hadn't changed much but the floor had quickly been swept to avoid anyone stepping on the glass, and the blood was being scrubbed away by Vector. Espio sat down on a chair by Aurora's side.

"Is she okay?"

Espio looked momentarily shocked but his expression changed as he nodded, "she should be."

"We're hoping," muttered Vector as he kept scrubbing the floor. Charmy flew over to Vector, flying into his face and handing the alligator the can of soda. "Thanks."

Charmy flew over to Espio and offered him a can, Espio took it in silence but didn't open it as he put it on the floor. Charmy flew over to the end of the bed and sat down. And almost as if someone hit a 'guzzle the soda down as fast as you can' button, Charmy had the can of soda gone in less than 5 minutes!

Taylor walked over to where Vector was and she saw an extra washcloth on the edge of the bucket that was tinted pink. She took it and asked, "if I help, can I stay here?"

Vector looked at Taylor and nodded, "I don't see why not."

Taylor's eyes lit up as she got down on her knees and started to assist Vector with cleaning.

"So how bad is she?"

"Well... she was shot 4 times, and most of her wounds look like they were made by a knife of some kind. Not an ordinary kitchen knife either but something larger, even heavier."

"..." Taylor didn't say anything to that as she said, "I'm gonna have to call in sick then."

"Sick? How come? Are you okay?"

Taylor nodded, her face paled slightly and she kept scrubbing the floor. Espio then suggested, "maybe you should rest."

"N-no... that's not it... I'm fine, honestly I am. I just feel really bad that my boyfriend didn't do anything."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yea... his name is Aaron. He's a cop and it's his job to respond to emergencies but-"

"He doesn't sound like a cop if he can't up hold his duty," remarked Espio.

Taylor nodded and she looked at the floor as she said, "I'm gonna dump him."

"That's probably the best thing to do. Maybe the shock will train him to be a better cop."

Taylor smirked, "if you met him, you'd figure it out at first glance, there's no changing him."

Silence followed after the mini conversation, and it fitted the moment just perfectly. After all, what is there really to talk about when someone is unconscious, two people are cleaning up blood, and the rest are waiting for that one person to wake up? Not much that's for sure. About an hour later, Vector and Taylor sighed as they stopped cleaning, they were almost done.

"We need a break," declared Vector.

Charmy had fallen asleep and was now laying on a small spot of the bed that wasn't taken up by Aurora. Espio was about to doze off when he heard that.

"Okay."

Vector walked over to the window and looked outside, he then sighed.

Taylor looked around the room and had to admire it; there wasn't a lot of stuff in here, she loved that. She was brought out of her thoughts as something started ringing.

"Taylor, can you get that? There's a phone in Vector's room," explained Espio as his eyes closed. Taylor nodded as she walked across the hall and into the huge room. She got over to Vector's night stand and picked up the phone.

"Hiya?"

"Where the hell are you Tay?" asked an arrogant voice. Taylor glared, it was her boyfriend. She felt her anger build up and she knew this was going to be a very interesting conversation.

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Hiya guys... grr! I can't slow down enough! Everything seems a little too fast! (Sighs) I'm gonna try to slow down a little so you can at least understand what's going on. Sorry again if this seems out of place, I was in a slight hurry when I wrote this.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Sega related, nor do I own Team Chaotix. I do however own Aurora, Taylor, and my best friend's insane character.


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